Sev follows the mysterious dark-clad man into the nurse's office where he finds him seated behind the desk. He makes his way quietly over and slips into the other chair glancing a look at the man who is sitting with his hands steepled in front of them, his dark eyes watching him intently but apparently deep in thought.
He waits for him to speak, when it becomes apparent this is not going to happen, he nervously clears his throat "uh, you wanted to see me, sir?" he asks.
This appears to break the trance on the man and he startled him suddenly launching into the conversation "I was surprised to find that you had made friends with Mr Potter, a known and persistent troublemaker" he said with distaste.
Sev blinks in astonishment before trying to formulate a reply "yeah I guess I have, what of it? He's been good to me" he thinks back to earlier and suddenly feels anger rising inside him "you shouldn't have shouted at him like that earlier. He really didn't do anything wrong he just tried to help me" he tells him the words out of his mouth before he can think about the wisdom of them, whoops maybe that was a mistake to scold a teacher like that he thinks biting his lip nervously not daring to look up and meet his eye.
Snape blinks at him in surprise before shaking himself out of it "yes well that was another thing" he admits looking embarrassed and uncomfortable, clearing his throat "I wanted to apologise for earlier, it was a mistake, I don't normally lose my temper like that but he bring out the worst in me, he has an uncanny knack for finding trouble and ways to test my patience."
"You shouldn't shout at people like that" Sev tells him glowering "I don't like it when people shout like that. It reminds me of my dad, he's always shouting at people, using his words and his fists to hurt me and my mum" he admits hugging himself, shivering at the memory of his father coming home blind drunk intent on taking his anger out on the first thing that moved or made a noise.
There's silence for a minute as Snape digests that. Of all the things he could have said to him that cuts right through him like a knife. He swore growing up that he would never be like his violent, abusive, drunken father, that he would never allow himself to frighten another child like that to lash out at them with violence or threats the way his father did to him and yet apparently there must be occasions when he has done just that and allowed his temper to get the better of him.
Sure, he has an acid tongue, caustic wit and a reputation for being menacing and intimidating, even reducing the occasional student to tears, but that was to be expected if he was to maintain his reputation as the evil bat of the dungeons. Dumbledore surely knew what he was getting himself into employing a former death eater as a teacher and a spy, a volatile 21-year-old man who had lost everything and been coerced into teaching children could hardly be expected to have a sunny disposition. No, the old man certainly didn't employ him because he had a way with children more likely it was so he could his new prize pet on a tight leash and make sure he didn't revert back to his old dark ways.
He shook himself out of that line of musing, no, a stern hand was called for, particularly when working with volatile, potentially explosive ingredients, and inattentive and clumsy children like Longbottom, who was an explosion waiting to happen. But that was all surely part of the game, wasn't it playing his part as the mean hated teacher so as not to arouse suspicion and yet making sure not to cross the line between being intimidating and genuinely terrifying, abusive even, had he really gone that far that they saw him in that way with the same fear he held for his father.
"I know, I know what that's like. I'm sorry, I never meant that" he tells him uneasily, but with genuine remorse.
Sev looked at him in confusion for a moment before he nods in silent acknowledgement, collecting himself. He calms down and frowns as he gathers his thoughts together "you don't like him, do you?"
Snape's head snaps up at this "Potter, you mean?" he nods in the affirmative.
"Why?" questioned the boy looking perplexed.
Snape gave him a look as though he was stupid and should already know the answer. When it appeared that was not the case he replied "is it not obvious? Perhaps the more appropriate question should be why don't you hate him?" he countered, raising an eyebrow.
Sev looked at him in astonished confusion for a minute before it hit him "no, oh you mean because he looks like Potter?" to which he received a pointed look as though to say well duh "no, he's nothing like the Potter I know. The Potter I know is a vain, arrogant, self-obsessed bully who seems to have nothing better to do than go around hexing people he doesn't like or offend him simply by existing. "Harry, well, he's just Harry," he said simply as though that explained everything before a thought occurred to him, "wait, how do you know about Potter?"
Damn the boy was smart, he'd nearly caught him out, not that that was entirely unexpected if he was a Snape and a Slytherin to boot. Still, he hadn't been a spy all these years without learning to think on his feet so it was easy enough to compose a believable response using the back story Dumbledore had given him and his own personal history. He replied smoothly
"Mr Potter's father wanted only the best for his only son" he sneered with ease "he was looking for a private tutor and was on good terms with Professor Slughorn who personally recommended me as the youngest certified potion master to tutor him in basic potions and several other subjects. Unfortunately, I found his son to be as you described rude, lazy and inattentive with little respect for authority and an inexplicable need to show off in front of an audience while recklessly endangering his own life much like your new friend. In particular, I found that he enjoyed trying to irritate me by making hurtful and often insulting, personal or embarrassing comments towards my person when he would not get his own way much like some of the current students" he muttered the last part and paused "since starting here I have also heard from the other teachers about his supposedly jovial antics and how he delights in hexing and pranking unfortunate students like yourself. I myself have suffered at the hands of many spoiled rotten arrogant students like him and thus detest arrogant bullies like him"
"And that's why you hate Harry because he reminds you of James Potter and happens to look like him?" he clarified, disbelievingly.
"That is part of the reason. We rub each other the wrong way, he is arrogant and reckless, constantly playing the heroes for his adoring fans and putting himself in danger, just like James Potter" he states only briefly pausing to stop himself from saying just like his father.
Sev pondered this. This was all very strange, he sensed something was going on that they weren't telling him. There was something very odd about this strange darkly clad man although he did a good job of covering it. He was meant to be Professor Slughorn's assistant but that didn't make sense, for starters this man clearly knew a lot about potions (and the dark arts for that matter) possibly more even than Slughorn and shouting aside appeared to be a very competent and experienced teacher although he supposed he might have had plenty of practise if he'd been teaching private students.
That brought him on to James and Harry. His dislike for James seemed to extend far beyond a teacher taking a dislike to a student to pure loathing, his disgust and hatred written across every inch of his face as though he truly understood what he was going through and had experienced firsthand his cruel pranks. But how was that possible? Then there was the relationship between him and Harry. The way they both acted around each other, Harry looked to be nearing the end of his education and based on how he acted wary of the Professor and the way he, in turn, spoke of Harry's antics and the mutual dislike of each other it seemed as though they had known each other for quite a long time.
Yet that didn't make sense if he was simply assisting Professor Slughorn besides which he didn't remember seeing him around Hogwarts and he was sure that he'd remember seeing such a striking and imposing figure if he'd been here last year, certainly he was the sort of figure that the other students would have been talking about in hushed whispers and making pains to point out to him that they shared the same last name.
That was another thing as well, his relatives were few and far between and he was sure that when he and Lily had snuck into the library intent on looking up their family history that he had not uncovered any magical relatives on his father's side of the family. Yet he seemed familiar in a way that he couldn't place, he hadn't been the only one to notice it clearly, Harry had certainly noticed it when he first saw him and his friend had certainly made it painfully obvious that he thought they were related.
No, something definitely didn't add up here, in fact, he was beginning to wonder if he hadn't travelled a bit farther than even he could comprehend although quite how that was possible he didn't understand.
Focusing back on the current conversation he addressed the imposing man "with respect sir that seems like a pretty stupid reason to dislike someone to me just because they happen to remind you of someone that you dislike"
He arched his eyebrows in surprise, how was it that this child could cut through him and render him gobsmacked time after time. His appearance of being a timid nervous boy was clearly receptive as he was quite brazen around him or perhaps that was the bit of fire and anger in him that was brought up when he prodded the embers, yes there was certainly something of himself in this strange dark-haired boy.
He quickly recovered himself, responding with a sharp retort "perhaps, but you do not know him as I do. He is arrogant, reckless and impetuous, rushing headlong into danger without any regard for his own safety, constantly seeking attention instead of seeking help from those who are entrusted with his care. It is a miracle that I have managed to keep him alive this long" he muttered this last part more to himself than to the boy.
"With respect sir I don't see that side to him, I'm sure that if he gets himself into danger that there must be a good reason for it and not because he is deliberately seeking it out and based on what he told me of his relatives I can see why he would have a hard time trusting adults, it's not as though he's been given a lot of reason to in the past"
He chose to dismiss most of that statement although he made a mental note to investigate the boy's relatives and supposed guardians at some point to see whether this tallied with the memories he had seen during occlumency lessons last year. Much as he hated to admit it, there was the possibility that he'd been wrong in assuming the boy had grown up spoiled and pandered to by his relatives, still, that was a problem for another day.
"Yes, well I suppose you wouldn't have seen that side of him, it is rather early in the year for him to be putting his life in mortal peril. Rest assured though if you spent enough time with him he would no doubt have enlisted your help fighting a Basilisk in some long-hidden chamber, intercepting would-be thieves and convicted murderers or perhaps fighting a mountain troll with nothing more than a wand" he said raising an eyebrow at the boy's suitably gobsmacked expression "I kid you not and this is only a sample of his adventures up to his third year, quite the resume is it not?" he said smugly watching the boys' gobsmacked expression as his jaw practically hit the floor.
"Uh … yeah. He's still nothing like Potter though" Sev replied stubbornly, struggling to come up with a better counter to that long list, it did sound like the kind of thing James would do but he and his band of friends would do it to show off and boast how clever and strong and brave they were, whereas he simply couldn't imagine Harry doing something like that just for attention or for laughs.
"Oh really?" he stated sounding unimpressed and unconvinced "so you mean to tell me that he hasn't once tried to prank or bully you? Call you names? Insult you? Laugh or taunt you? Call you a greasy git, vampire or dungeon bat?" He continued listing them off.
"No he didn't" he replied honestly, "he's been very good to me, he's treated me very well, he's been kind and been supportive and given me good advice, he even showed me how to cast a Patronus, he said it was powerful magic" Snape raised an eyebrow questioningly, Sev pondered for a minute "well there was this one incident" he starts.
Here we go Snape thought gleefully, the proof, the incriminating evidence that Potter really is an arrogant bully just like his father.
"You see he was just trying to convince me to go down to the hospital because he was worried that I might be injured and that I wouldn't like to be in a room full of rowdy Gryffindors when one of his friends burst in and disturbed us, Harry tried his best shield me from him, but his friend spotted me and he started saying all these nasty things like calling you names and saying I was your son and that you'd kept me chained down in the dungeons" he paused for a breath, clearly the memory was upsetting "well I could tell Harry was really upset and angry, he took him outside and gave him a good talking to. I don't know what he said to him but I wouldn't have wanted to have been his friend he was fuming"
Snape had to blink and quickly hide his shock, that most certainly wasn't what he'd been expecting. His friend could only be the Weasley boy, the redhead was famous for his fiery temper and tendency to act with his mouth before thinking things through and he was well known for his vocal dislike for him. The fact that Potter stood up to his best friend to defend a boy who to all intents and purposes looked like a younger version of his hated potions professor left him dumbfounded. Perhaps he really had been misjudging the boy.
"And you'll never guess what" he said leaning forward conspiratorially as though to whisper some great secret "He even let me use his invisibility cloak so I could sneak past the Gryffindors without them hassling me, it was brilliant!" he exclaimed, his face lighting up with a big mischievous grin.
Now that was certainly unexpected. Much as he hated Potter and that dratted invisibility cloak which had caused so much trouble in the hands of both Potters he had to admit that that seemed like a true act of kindness and sensitivity on the part of the younger Potter that was much more reminiscent of his mother than his father. Well, it certainly appeared the boy had given him a lot to think about he thought as he dismissed him, perhaps he was going to have to reassess some of his opinions about him.
Chapter 4